1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laryngeal mask airway and, particularly, to a laryngeal mask airway with a belt. Moreover, the present invention also provides an operating piece for controlling the same and a gas supply kit comprising the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the case of anesthesia and apnea patients, the top priority is the provision of pulmonary gas by emergency medical personnel. Among the various respiration sustaining instruments, the laryngeal mask airway, due to its ease of operability, is a common alternative to endotracheal intubation.
Please refer to FIG. 1 for the structure of a conventional laryngeal mask airway 10P. Basically, the laryngeal mask airway 10P comprises a flexible tubular portion 11, an inflatable sealing cuff 13, and an inflation tube 15. The flexible tubular portion 11 comprises a first opening part 111 and a second opening part 112. The inflatable sealing cuff 13 is disposed surrounding the first opening part 111, and the inflation tube 15 has one end connected to the inflatable sealing cuff 15 and the other end directing gas into the inflatable sealing cuff 13.
Please refer to FIGS. 2 to 4 for illustrative diagrams showing the conventional laryngeal mask airway 10P in use. First, a user may insert the laryngeal mask airway 10P into a patient's mouth by the end having the inflatable sealing cuff 13, which is in a deflated condition. When the inflatable sealing cuff 13 reaches a deeper part in the mouth, the user will then have to insert his/her finger into the patient's mouth to bend the front end of the laryngeal mask airway 10P, making the structure of the laryngeal mask airway 10P conform with the structure of the patient's upper jaw. In addition, due to the softness of the laryngeal mask airway 10P the user may not exert force thereby. Thus, the user has to push aside the tongue with his/her finger to bend the first opening part 111 and the flexible tubular portion 11 to such an extent that they can pass the upper jaw and reach the opening of the trachea, as shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, when the laryngeal mask airway 10P gets to a specific position, the user may then aerate the inflatable sealing cuff 13 from the inflation tube 15 so as to form a sealing mask in the patient's throat. The sealing mask may encompass the opening of the trachea and form an air passage thereby. After that, the user may direct gas, such as oxygen, from the second opening part 112 to maintain the patient's respiration.
Accordingly, during the installation of a laryngeal mask airway, users always have to insert their finger(s) (especially their index fingers) into a patient's mouth to pass the soft, inconvenient laryngeal mask airway through the upper jaw because of the obstruction of the patient's tongue. In general, this displacement of fingers may cause two problems. First, there will be a risk that the user is bitten by the patient during the installation of a laryngeal mask airway. Second, in a case where a patient's oral space is overly small, which may be caused by an overly small mouth, an overly tight tooth joint, or an overly thick tongue, a user may encounter difficulty inserting his/her finger(s) into the patient's mouth, resulting in a failure of the installation of the laryngeal mask airway.